As coffee consumption is on the rise, and the global coffee production creates an excess of 23 million tons of waste per year, a revolutionary transition towards a circular economy via the transformation and valorization of the main by-products from its cultivation and preparation (Coffee Husk (CH), Coffee Pulp (CP), Coffee Silverskin (CS), and Spent Coffee Grounds (SCG)) is inspiring researchers around the world. The recent growth of scholarly publications in the field and the emerging applications of coffee by-products published in these scientific papers encourages a systematic review to identify the knowledge structure, research hotspots, and to discuss the challenges and future directions. This paper displays a comprehensive scientometric analysis based on 108 articles with a high level of influence in the field of coffee by-products and their applications. According to our analysis, the research in this field shows an explosive growth since 2017, clustered in five core applications: bioactive compounds, microbial transformation, environmental applications, biofuels from thermochemical processes, and construction materials.

There is widespread concern about the increase in cases of human and animal infections caused by pathogenic Vibrio species due to the emergence of epidemic lineages. In Colombia, active surveillance by the National Institute of Health (INS) has confirmed the presence of Vibrio; however, in routine surveillance, these isolates are not genomically characterized. This study focused on the pangenome analysis of six Vibrio species: V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, V. alginolyticus, V. fluvialis, V. diabolicus and V. furnissii to determine the genetic architectures of potentially virulent and antimicrobial resistance traits. Isolates from environmental and clinical samples were genome sequenced, assembled and annotated. The most important species in public health were further characterized by multilocus sequence typing and phylogenomics. For V. parahaemolyticus, we found the virulent ST3 and ST120 genotypes. For V. vulnificus, we identified isolates belonging to lineages 1 and 2. Virulence gene homologues between species were found even in non-pathogenic species such as V. diabolicus. Annotations related to the mobilome, integrative mobile and conjugative elements and resistance genes were obtained from environmental and clinical isolates. This study contributes genomic information to the intensified surveillance program implemented by the INS to establish potential sources of vibriosis in Colombia.

Agriculture generates 11.4 billion tons of biomass worldwide, including residues from crop production and industrial processing. Improper disposal of agricultural residues results in environmental pollution and the waste of valuable biomass resources. Management of agricultural waste is particularly suboptimal in developing countries where low added-value traditional practices to manage the residues are commonplace. A bioeconomy approach to better manage agricultural waste is to use renewable biological resources from land and sea to produce new materials and energy, allowing the development of bio-based value chains (BBVC). This study explored the potential of BBVC in the management of cacao pod husk (CPH), the primary residual biomass generated from the production of cacao in Colombia. Thus, a literature review on cacao pod husk (CPH) management strategies and a survey for farmers from Caldas State in Colombia between August and November of 2020 were performed to identify the potentials and limitations of BBVC in the management of CPH. Assessment of CPH management strategies suggested variable uses for CPH categorized in energy, food, and miscellaneous. Analysis of surveys indicated farmers are keen to implement strategies to better manage their agricultural waste, but that information is not available to them. Finally, an approach to develop a BBVC from cacao was proposed, which we plan to implement as a future research direction. We expect to impact the economic growth positively in the region with bio-based products in the market.

The cyclohexadepsipeptide beauvericin (BEA) is a mycotoxin produced by the fungus Beauveria bassiana (Bals.). Using ELISA, different accessions of B. bassiana, belonging to distinct genetic groups, were analyzed to determine their variability in BEA production. The cytotoxic effect of pure mycotoxins and crude extracts was also tested on insect cell lines SF-9 and SF-21. The results showed that BEA production was significantly different between all strains. Bb 9024 exhibited the highest levels (98.56 mg/l), while Bb 9001 the lowest (15.66 mg/l). Statistical difference was found when BEA CC₅₀ values (2.81 and 6.94 μM) were compared with those values from others mycotoxins (4.23–11.95 μM). Although no correlation has been observed between beauvericin production and phylogenetic grouping, the results suggest a comprehensible involvement of these metabolites during the infection process. The biological evaluation of metabolites produce by entomopathogenic fungi provides better criteria to design more effective formulations for pest management.